Dawn in the primeval forest

Dawn at the Narewka river

This Sound Bank presents a collection of Colombian nature sounds recorded as part of Cucusonic - a collaborative project, harnessing the multiple sonic registers of animal sound to bring together different groups of people in Colombia and explore the transformative potential of biodiversity. 

As part of the project, recordings of animal sounds were shared with musicians and producers to encourage creative dialogues and new musical compositions that explore the potential of these sonic registers to make connections between scientific and social perspectives, translated into messages of hope to a wider, international audience. The main outcome of this process was 'Cucusonic', an album released in 2021 in partnership with In Place of War. 

Cucusonic is a partnership between The University of Manchester, the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology, and In Place Of War, with additional support from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), and Kone Foundation (Finland). 

"cucu": the onomatopoeic Spanish word for the sound made by amphibians. 
"sonic": the nature of sound, representing for us the full spectrum of animal vocalisations. 

Late Night, Bahia Solano

Birds of San Pedro

Bogert's aquatic tree frog

Rufous-banded owl

Thunder storm, Bahia Solano

Tropical screech owl

Beyond Human Hearing

Bat sound signals

From the everyday sounds that encapsulate the events of the past twelve months to the year’s most innovative and creative sound technology, the Sound of the Year Awards - judged by a panel of leading lights from the international sound community - celebrates sound in all its forms and from all corners of the world.

This Sound Bank showcases all winners of the Natural Sound and Disappearing Sound categories to date (2019 - 2023), as well as a handful of highly recommended sound recordings from both of these categories.

Abby Lee Tee - The Kits Are Alright (sounds of beaver kits in their lodge along the Danube river)

Alvaro Díaz-Rodríguez - Noche de Xantolo ('Day of the dead', San Luís Potosí, México)

Finbarr Dillon - Weddellscape (Weddel seal sounds, Antarctica)

Musician wren (Cyphorhinus arada modulator) - Guilherme Melo

Leach's storm petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous) - Simon S. Christiansen

Crested oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus) - Fernand Deroussen

Corncrake

Swift

Curlew

Puffin

Bowhead (Dec 2011)

Bowhead (Dec 2016)

Walrus

Beluga whales (May 2012)

Bowhead (Dec 2019)

Baluga, Bowhead, Bearded (Barrow spring, 2015)

Ice noise (Dec 2012)

Ice cries (Oct 2008)

Ice pops (Mar 2012)

Ice noise (Feb 2011)

Walrus grunts (Aug 2019)

Bowhead (Jan 2009)

Bowhead (Jan 2024)

The EarthSonic Sounds Archive documents the sounds of earth and climate change, recorded by scientists, nature sound recordists, indigenous communities, and many others around the world. Our curated Sound Banks offer a window into the archive.

Some of these sounds - like whale song, the sounds of receding glaciers, or last recordings of extinct species - will be reworked by leading musicians as part of EarthSonic, creating music that engages and inspires a wider global audience.  

EarthSonic has also issued a fund aimed at widening access to nature sound recording among young people around the globe, including from indigenous communities. The fund is creating opportunities for recipients to listen to the natural world, engage with nature sound recording, and contribute to our archive. 

Feel free to submit your own sounds to our archive, or download our freely available sounds collection!

https://www.earthsonic.org/sounds-archive

EarthSonic

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